Читать книгу The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers - Various - Страница 272

The members of this order are ground-birds, with strong, blunt-clawed feet adapted for scratching up the ground in search of food. The beak is nearly always shorter than the head, and has projecting edges; the wings are generally short, and rounded off; the legs are armored with callosities. All these birds build their nests on the ground, and their young are nest fledglings, leaving the nest on the same day. A number of our domesticated fowl belong to this group.

Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is known everywhere by the clear whistle that suggests its name. It is loved by every dweller in the country and is better known to more hunters in the United States than any other game bird. It is no less appreciated on the table than in the field, and in many states has unquestionably been hunted too closely. Half the food of this quail consists of weed seeds, almost a fourth of grain, and about a tenth of wild fruits. Although thus eating grain, the bird gets most of it from stubble. It feeds freely upon Colorado potato beetles, chinch bugs, cucumber beetles, wireworms, billbugs, clover-leaf weevils, cotton-boll weevils army worms, bollworms, cutworms, and Rocky Mountain locusts.

Chicken or Fowl.—See Domesticated Animals.

Grouse is a name applied to many game-birds, including quail and partridges. They are well known to be large, plump, somewhat heavy birds, usually short-tailed, and with beautifully variegated plumage, which must often be protective. The largest American grouse, however, is the Cock of the Plains or Sage Cock. The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is distinguished from other grouse by the broad black band near tip of tail. It is found in the northern two-thirds of the United States and in the forested parts of Canada. [220] The Ruffed Grouse is famed as the finest game bird of the northern woods. It is usually wild and wary and well understands the attacks of hunters. Wild fruits, mast, and browse make up the bulk of the vegetable food of this species; and it is very fond of hazelnuts, beechnuts, chestnuts, and acorns and eats practically all kinds of wild berries and other fruits.

Guinea—See Domesticated Animals.

Partridges (Tetraonidæ).—The most common of the Old World is the Gray Partridge. The Snow Pheasants of the heights of the Himalayas may exceed six pounds in weight. The Gray Partridge of India is not palatable as food, but, being very pugnacious, is kept for fighting; the male has two spurs on each foot. There are upward of fifty species of American partridges, among which are the Mountain Quail of California, the Bobwhite (which see), while the Ruffed Grouse is called Partridge in the North and Pheasant in the South. It is shy, forest-loving; the male makes a drumming sound by vibrating its wings. Its tarsus is feathered half way, the head crested, and plumage variegated.

Peacock.—See Domesticated Animals.

Pheasants (Phasianidæ).—About forty species of pheasants inhabit southeastern Asia. They are brilliantly colored and have long tails and crests. The males generally are pugnacious; the male of the Blood Pheasant, dwelling on the heights of the Himalayas, has four or five spurs on each foot.